Will We See An NFC Enabled iPhone 5?

Looking ahead to the next year, technology enthusiasts cannot help but wonder what the major players in the industry are going to come up with next. As far as Apple is concerned, we know we can expect a pretty impressive iPad 3, but on the other hand, the next generation iPhone should take some serious steps if it is to stay ahead of, or some would say keep up with, the competition.

Apple’s rivals have already introduced smartphones on the market with support for the latest in mobile technology, such as 4G LTE data speeds and Near Field Communication, which among other things enables easy and secure payments with a smartphone.

Analysts believe that the current flagship Apple smartphone didn’t integrate NFC technology due to the fact that the market wasn’t ready. Few merchants have been willing to invest in terminals allowing NFC powered payments up till now, and the major retail chains are only just experimenting with this new option. However, in the near future the situation is going to be different.

DigiTimes, published a report recently revealing its well informed predictions. According to the Taiwanese technology website, in the next two or three years, the market penetration of NFC enabled smartphones is going to be more than 50% compared to the current 10%.

The Cupertino based company is not often the originator of new technology, but is not one to miss out on major market trends; indeed, Apple is itself a driving force behind the widespread adoption of new features, as will likely be the case with its Siri voice control Assistant.